Philippe Ballard

Philippe Ballard (French pronunciation: [filip balaʁ]; born 24 November 1960) is a French politician and former journalist who worked as a broadcaster prior to becoming a reporter and television presenter for La Chaîne Info (LCI).

Philippe Ballard
Member of the National Assembly for Oise's 2nd constituency
Incumbent
Assumed office 22 June 2022
Preceded by	Agnès Thill
Member of the Regional Council of Île-de-France
In office 2 July 2021 – 31 May 2023
President	Valérie Pécresse
Personal details
Born	(1960-11-24) 24 November 1960 (age 63) Champigny-sur-Marne, France
Political party	National Rally (since 2020)
Other political affiliations	UDF (1989-2008)
Profession	Journalist

Ballard entered politics as a municipal councillor in Le Plessis-Trevise (1989–2008) as a member of the Union for French Democracy (UDF) before being elected to the Regional Council of Île-de-France in 2021 as a member of the National Rally (RN). In 2022, he was elected to represent the 2nd constituency of Oise in the National Assembly.

Biography

Broadcasting career

Ballard was born in 1960. He graduated with a degree in communications from the School of Advertising, Press and Public Relations (EPPREP) in Paris.^[1] He first worked as a presenter on Sud Radio in the 1980s, followed by France Info and RTL in the 1990s.^[2]

Ballard joined La Chaîne Info (LCI) in 1994 as a news reporter and presented a number of political shows. He also covered events such as the 2008 US presidential election and the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton in the United Kingdom.^[3]

He was an official of the French Confederation of Christian Workers and campaigned against LCI's proposed closure in 2014.^[4]

Political career

From 1989 to 2008, Ballard served for three terms in the municipal council (also holding office as deputy mayor) of Le Plessis-Trévise in Val-de-Marne. He was elected as a member of the Union for French Democracy party.^[5]

He joined the National Rally in September 2020 and successfully stood as a candidate in the 2021 regional election in Île-de-France.^[6] For the 2022 legislative election, Ballard contested the 2nd constituency of Oise seat, which he won in the second round.^[7] He was reelected in the first round at the 2024 French legislative election.^[8]

References

1. "Philippe Ballard". gala.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 28 April 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
2. "Philippe Ballard". tf1.fr (in French). 2019-04-18. Archived from the original on 2020-11-24. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
3. "LCI : Mariage du Prince William et de Kate Middleton en direct le 29 avril". newstele.com (in French). Archived from the original on 2014-03-20. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
4. "LCI renonce à l'info en continu, TF1 supprime 148 postes". lepoint.fr. 23 September 2014. Archived from the original on 3 May 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2021..
5. Valérie Beck (14 June 1998). "La chaine info, quatre ans déjà". Le Journal du dimanche (in French): 18.
6. "Régionales : un présentateur de LCI désigné tête de liste du Rassemblement national à Paris". lefigaro.fr (in French). 2021-04-27. Archived from the original on 2021-04-27. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
7. Chazot, Sylvain. "Législatives: le RN Philippe Ballard, un élu de Beauvais augure". Libération (in French). Archived from the original on 2022-06-19. Retrieved 2022-06-20.
8. "Résultats du 1er tour des éléctions législatives pour la 2nde circonscription de l'Oise" (in French). Minister of the Interior. Retrieved 1 July 2024.